Foreign Investment jumps 512 percent during 2019-20: SBP

KARACHI: The first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20 witnessed a 512 percent increase in foreign investments as compared to the same period of the previous year, ARY NEWS reported.

According to data released by the SBP, the total foreign investments in the country stood at US$3.98 billion during the eight months of the ongoing fiscal year as compared to US$650.6 million during the same period of the previous year.

It showed that the foreign investments in bonds reached upto US$2.16 billion, becoming a major booster in the overall foreign investments.

The direct foreign investments witnessed an increase of 75 percent from the previous year that is US$793.7 million. The direct investment during the previous fiscal year remained at US$1.059 billion.

However, investments in the Pakistan Stocks Market witnessed a negative trend as it saw decline by US$26 million.

On March 11, Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Murtaza Syed said that the global economic growth will witness a decline in the ongoing year and would likely impact the growth rates in Pakistan.

Addressing an FPCCI meeting, Murtaza Syed said that the outbreak of coronavirus is changing with the passage of time and now its impact has slowed down in China.

“The number of fresh cases from within China has come down and the situation is moving towards improvement,” he said adding that worst is over for China in terms of the virus.

The SBP official said that the virus could bring a negative impact on global growth for a quarter period. “The IMF has already predicted that the global growth rates would witness decline this year as compared to the previous financial year,” the SBP deputy governor said adding that the slow down of global economy would also impact the country’s growth.